A Sister's War by Molly Green (the reading strategies book txt) 📕

Will’s kiss had been totally unexpected. And to think he’d done it in front of Dora – well, it made her admire him all the more. Dora certainly didn’t intimidate him.

As she lay there trying to calm her beating heart, she heard Dora’s voice outside, talking to one of the others. She couldn’t hear what Dora was saying but anxiety began to form like a knot in her stomach.

She knew she hadn’t heard the last from Dora.

Chapter Twelve

‘There. You should be fine now.’

Nurse Martin washed her hands at a sink in the front room of a cottage which faced the canal. Ronnie was lying on the patient’s bed where the nurse had cleaned her forehead and dabbed on some TCP, making Ronnie wince and her eyes water with the sudden sting. The room filled with the familiar smell.

‘Best antiseptic for minor injuries,’ she said, examining Ronnie’s forehead again. ‘I don’t think it needs a plaster. Better to have the air on it. Let it breathe. There’s only a bad graze but you’ve got a superb bruise coming out.’

Ronnie closed her eyes. Will said that’s what would happen.

‘If you have any dizziness, blurred eyesight or memory loss, then you must go to the nearest hospital right away as it’s likely to be concussion.’ She paused. ‘Get up nice and slowly.’

Ronnie took in a shaky breath as she put her feet on the floor, then stood.

‘You don’t still feel dizzy, do you?’ Nurse Martin asked.

‘No … thank you. I feel all right. Sorry to make a fuss.’

‘You did the right thing,’ the nurse said. ‘And I doubt you’ll have any repercussions, but don’t do too much today, have an early night and you’ll be right as rain in the morning – if today’s weather is anything to go by we’ll be having more “right rain” tomorrow,’ she added with a smile, looking towards the window where it was splashing down the panes in deep rivulets.

‘It was the rain which made opening the lock so slippery,’ Ronnie said.

‘You have to be very careful on the cuts, especially at this time of the year.’ The nurse removed the bottom sheet of the bed and deftly folded it. ‘We’re probably in for a long spell of winter. I take my hat off to you girls working on the boats in bad weather. But many of the trainees don’t stick it, and frankly, I don’t blame them.’ She suddenly cocked her head. ‘What’s going on? Did you hear that?’

There was the sound of muffled shouting outside. Nurse Martin hurried to the window and peered through the rain-streaked glass.

‘It sounds as if someone’s in the thick of an argument,’ she said.

Ronnie was desperate to get a look over the nurse’s shoulder, but it was impossible as she was several inches too short. Frustrated, she jumped up and saw Dora waving her arms and looking agitated. Maybe Will hadn’t ‘got lost’ as Dora had ordered him to.

Ronnie smiled to herself. Will wasn’t the type to be ordered around by Dora or anyone.

‘It’s the police!’ Nurse Martin turned to her. ‘Two of them. It looks like they want to go on board and Dora’s not having any of it. They’re all standing there in the pouring rain.’

Ronnie took a step back. The police? What on earth did they want? It flashed across her mind that she was glad Will wasn’t still hanging around, though why she would think this she had no idea.

‘I’d better go,’ she said to Nurse Martin. ‘Thank you very much for looking after me. I was feeling quite rough.’

‘I could see you were,’ the nurse said. ‘Now, remember – any trouble at all from that head and you’ll have it examined by a doctor. Is that clear?’

‘Yes, I promise,’ Ronnie said.

‘Can you see yourself out?’

‘Of course.’

Still feeling a little light-headed, Ronnie held on to the banister rail as she went down the stairs. She opened the front door to hear Dora demanding:

‘Show me yer search warrant.’

‘Rather than getting soaked, if you’d allow us to come on board, I’ll be pleased to show you, madam,’ the older and shorter of the two men said.

Dora pursed her lips. ‘Yous’d better come with me, then.’

What were they looking for? Ronnie put the collar of her raincoat up and followed them onto Persephone’s deck. Dora swung round.

‘Oh, there you are.’ Dora turned to the sergeant, who briefly put his hand up to his cap in a half salute, and the younger man, who touched his helmet.

Once they were through the hatch they removed their hats. Ronnie noticed the younger one had a thatch of shiny brown hair, almost too long for a policeman.

The older one cleared his throat. ‘I’m sorry, we haven’t introduced ourselves. I’m Sergeant Sandford and this is Constable Scott, investigators for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company.’ He briefly touched a badge with the letters GUCC on his shoulder, then handed Dora a piece of paper. Her eyes flicked over it.

‘Don’t mean nothin’ to me,’ she said, giving it back.

Did that mean Dora couldn’t understand it? Or that she couldn’t actually read it?

‘Would you like me to read it out?’ Constable Scott asked.

‘No, it don’t matter. If yer say it’s a search warrant, I’ll have ter believe you.’

The constable turned to Ronnie.

‘May I have your full name, Miss …?’

‘Miss Véronique Linfoot,’ Ronnie said, rolling her ‘r’s in the French style. Constable Scott raised his eyebrows. ‘But known as Ronnie by everyone except my French mother.’

The constable’s mouth twitched at the corners but he didn’t say anything, merely nodded and jotted it down in his notebook.

‘Well, yous’d better carry on,’ Dora said. ‘But yer won’t find nothin’ here suspicious.’

‘Thank you, Miss Dummitt.’

The sergeant nodded at the younger man and they began looking through the cabin, opening cupboard doors and peering into them, lifting lids of pots including the water can, and to Ronnie’s consternation even checking the lavatory bucket. She hoped to goodness it had been cleaned and disinfected. Constable Scott pulled down the